Comfort Me With Apples

I stole the title of this blog post from Ruth Reichl's food memoir Comfort Me With Apples. This book is the first "food novel" I ever read.

Two years ago, my mom and I waited in line for almost 2 hours at an Ina Garten book signing. To make the wait more interesting, the woman in front of us was a huge foodie and insisted that I read Reichl's works: Comfort Me with Apples and Tender at the Bone. Sure enough, two months later I received both books from Santa on Christmas morning. I zipped through these books in a matter of days. I just couldn't put them down. Reading Reichl's memoirs was like eating a massive piece of chocolate cake: you know should stop, but it's just too good to put it down.

I also think it was about this time that I started to consider food writing as a possible career. I was enthralled by the way Reichl transformed food into some sort of higher being. She doesn't just describe food and its taste, smell, and texture; she develops entire stories and themes around food. I loved the idea that I could take something as universal and biological as food and turn it into my own, unique story. And so began my journey to becoming a food writer...

I still have a long way to go, and who knows how/if/when I will ever get there; but maybe this blog will be a chapter in my own food memoir down the road...

In the meantime, I've been in the mood for some New England-y comforting, fall foods during my visit at home this weekend. Keeping theme with Reichl's book and the bountiful apple orchards in New England, I decided to incorporate apples into a savory dinner. I found a great recipe from FoodNetwork.com that was not only simple and delicious, but also a big hit with my picky family back home: Chicken with Apples, Red Onion and Cider.

After seasoning the chicken and dredging it in flour, I sautéed the chicken breasts until they had a nice brown crust on the outside. I removed the chicken from the pan and placed them on a baking sheet lined with a rack to finish cooking in the oven. In the same pan, I added the apples (I used Macoun, which are similar to McIntosh), red onion, and apple cider vinegar. After the mixture became a little syrupy, I added the chicken broth to thicken it. This cooked for about 10 minutes until it was nice and thick. I added the chicken back to the pan to continue cooking and also to absorb the flavors of the sauce. Off the heat, I seasoned it with some more salt and pepper, and stirred in 2 tablespoons of butter to give it a little more richness and luxuriousness.

On the side, I made one of my favorite fall vegetables: roasted butternut squash. For Thanksgiving last year, I made a vegetable side dish that had a little bit of maple syrup, and it made such a difference. The maple syrup added the slightest bit of sweetness, but also created a nice, brown crust from the caramelization of the sugars. So tonight, rather than just roasting the squash with olive oil, salt and pepper as always, I drizzled some maple syrup and a sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg. The squash comes out a beautiful golden color with a few brown spots, where the maple syrup just begins to burn. A sophisticated, gourmet twist on a beloved fall vegetable.

It's nights like these, making comforting, homey foods and eating with my family, that will inspire me to write my own food memoir some day.

Brunch Bunch

One of my most favorite things about New York City is Sunday brunch. Sure, you can get brunch anywhere in the country, but no where is it quite the same as in New York. New York City brunches are an institution: people wait hours for a table at hot spots (yes, hours. I have spent several hours of my life waiting for a table at brunch), which thrive with people hoping to cure their hangover with massive amounts of food and more alcohol. I also love that brunch menus in New York City are available until 5 or 6 pm at most places. Not that I would go out for brunch this late, but for night owls who party until 5 am, it only makes sense to stroll in at 5 pm on a Sunday.

Last summer in New York, my friend Elana and I made a weekend ritual of trying several brunch spots. Some of my favorites: Clinton Street Baking Company (the BEST pancakes I have EVER had), Sarabeth's (an institution in its own right), and Norma's (brunch for the classier set). We literally waited up to two hours for a table at some of these places. By the time we got a table, we were so hungry that our stomachs felt like they were going to eat themselves, and we quickly felt a warm buzz from drinking our mimosas on such empty tummies. But the painful wait and starvation was always worth it in the end. We stuffed our faces until we were ready to crawl back into bed and sleep through our wonderful food comas.

Now that we are both back in New York, it was about time that we resumed this beloved tradition. This past Sunday, we brunched at the hoppin' Buttermilk Channel in Brooklyn. The buzz about Buttermilk Channel started last summer and its popularity has only grown since. Dana Cowin, the editor of Food & Wine magazine, just listed Buttermilk Channel as one of her recent food expeditions in the September issue. Needless to say, it was an easy decision when searching on our brunch premiere for the season.

One would hope that the buttermilk pancakes at a restaurant with the word "buttermilk" in its name would be spectacular. The pancakes here were so delicious that you will be surprised to learn that the restaurant actually gets its name not from the beloved breakfast dish, but from the nearby tidal strait separating Governor's Island and Brooklyn. Dairy farmers used to cross this strait to sell their milk in Manhattan, hence the Buttermilk Channel, which the restaurant is named after. Body of water or not, Buttermilk Channel--the restaurant--is all about the buttermilk pancakes. These pancakes will leave you swearing off Bisquick for good. So light and fluffy, without being too cakey, Buttermilk's homemade pancakes are better than any pancake that comes out of a box. And the best part? The short stack is only $5, which includes a mimosa, bellini, or sparkling wine. (Although I must admit, Clinton Street Baking Co. still has the best pancakes I've ever tasted).

But Buttermilk Channel doesn't stop at just buttermilk pancakes. Oh no, buttermilk is a star ingredient in other popular dishes, such as buttermilk fried chicken with cheddar waffles and buttermilk biscuits. Fried chicken doesn't sound too appetizing to me for brunch, but the buttermilk biscuits were unbelievable. So insanely buttery and flaky, I would have been satisfied with eating just a basket of these.

Who am I kidding...me, only eating biscuits for a meal? Get real. It wouldn't be brunch without a little protein too...so Elana and I also shared the scrambled eggs with spinach, mushrooms and goat cheese. Like the pancakes, the eggs were perfectly light and fluffy. We both agreed that the goat cheese added a nice tang and elegance, without being too overpowering or heavy. The eggs also came with hash browns, which were more like a thick potato latke. Crispy and moist!

In the end we were extremely satisfied. The food was delicious, the service was friendly, it was a beautiful, warm day outside in New York, and the bill only came to $15!! I'm not sure what I was more thankful for: that the meal was so surprisingly cheap, or the whole concept of New York City brunch itself.

La Cucina Italiana

This weekend I received a long overdue and much-anticipated birthday present. For my birthday in May, my boyfriend Keenan gave me a gift certificate for a cooking class for two at Rustico Cooking in New York City. It took us forever to actually schedule the class. I was still living in Massachusetts this summer; and when I found a date that we were both available, the class was already filled! Almost six months later, and we finally made it to Rustico's "Essentials of Italian Cooking".

Set in Midtown on West 39th St, Rustico occupies two floors. The kitchen is beautiful, clean and spacious--plenty of surface area, stovetops, and ovens. A little video camera is set above the stove so that everyone in the class can observe from a large flat screen TV. (Watching myself on the TV as I stirred the béchamel, I felt like I had my own Food Network show!)

The dining area features long wooden tables surrounded by large, colorful paintings. It was such a gorgeous space that I felt excited as soon as we arrived. There were about 15 people in the class. People timidly chatted and kept to themselves as we snacked on salami and a quesadilla-type appetizer. Rustico Cooking was launched in 2002 by Micol Negrin, a native Italian and author of two cookbooks: Rustico: Regional Italian Cooking and The Italian Grill. Micol's bold, Italian spirit set us at ease and encouraged to dive into the kitchen.

Micol explained that the first thing you do when cooking is look at the big picture: What am I making that requires the most time and preparation and then work from there. So we added the chicken for the Chicken Caccitore, which had already been marinating for two days, to the oven.

Next, we needed to get the fennel in the oven to roast. But first, Micol instructed us to blanch the fennel, which helps it to become more tender than just popping it straight in the oven. After blanching the fennel, we just sprinkled it with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and left it in a 425 degree oven for about 45 minutes. This same method can be used for roasting all sorts of veggies: parsnips, cauliflower, potatoes. Such an easy way to cook vegetables that delivers so much flavor.

The sauce for the chicken was also very simple. We sautéed onion, garlic, and some red pepper flakes in oil. Then added capers, chopped tomatoes, and anchovies. Anchovies are one of the few foods that I actually hate, so I was a little nervous about this. However, we only added about 4 anchovy fillets to a sauce that would feed 15 people. In this dish, the anchovies aren't meant to be a main feature; they just flavor and add depth to the sauce.

While the sauce simmered and the flavors meshed together, we started making our own pasta dough. Having never made fresh pasta before, this was the part I was most looking forward to. Micol showed us a very interesting technique for making the dough: form a ring with flour on your work surface. In the middle of the ring, add your eggs. Beat the eggs with your fingers, and slowly incorporate the flour. Once everything comes together, the dough will look messy and sticky. This is okay, Micol assured us. You want to work with and knead the pasta dough; it is not delicate like bread or pastry. Using the heel of your hand, you knead the dough in a circular motion until it reaches a smooth consistency.

We cut the dough into even pieces and divided into teams of four. Each team got a piece of dough and we took turns running the dough through the pasta machine. We first started on level 1 (the thickest level) and ran the dough through 3 times. Then we progressively turned the dial to a thinner setting and ran the dough through until we had a loooong, thin piece of dough. It was amazing to watch it go from a round ball to such a long, smooth strip.

Because we were making cannelloni, we cut the dough into even squares. After boiling the pasta squares for only two minutes, we added the filling (ricotta, mozzarella, egg, prosciutto) and rolled them up. We then lined all of the individual cannelloni in a large pan and covered them in the béchamel sauce we made earlier. These baked in 300 degree oven for 30 minutes.

It wouldn't be an Italian meal without something a little sweet. For dessert, we made orange-scented chocolate-hazelnut biscotti. However, these weren't you're traditional biscotti; these were actually mono-cotti. Biscotti translates to "twice baked". That is because you first make the cookie dough, shape it into a log, bake it, cut it into pieces and bake it again. This is why biscotti have that crispy, crunchy texture. We eliminated the second baking step in our procedure; hence, mono-cotti: once baked. This created a much chewier, fudgier texture to our cookies (and much preferred to the dryness of some biscotti).

After about two hours in the kitchen, it was finally time to eat!

The dining table was set beautifully with an assortment of wines. Micol's handy assistants did all the plating and serving of the food, so that was a nice break after working so hard in the kitchen. I don't know if it was the food, the wine, or just the fact that we had all been cooking together for the past 2 hours, but everyone was much more open and talkative than at the start of the class. It's amazing what a little food and booze can do to social settings...

The Chicken Cacciatore was great. The chicken had so much flavor from marinating for so long, and was super tender from cooking in the sauce. The sauce also had great flavor (thanks to those

anchovies!). The fennel was also delicious. I'm not

a big fan of raw fennel, but I love it

cooked. Roasting the fennel really softened its pungent flavor, and gave it a nice crispy bite on the ends. But the cannelloni were definitely my favorite part of the meal. There's just something about baked pasta with cheese, that you can never go wrong. It was amazing how much you could tell the difference with the fresh pasta--the cannelloni literally melted in your melt. Unbelievable!

And of course, dessert... I was definitely a fan of the mono-cotti. They were more similar to a chewy cookie, or even a brownie. I'm somewhat of a chocolate purist, so I don't love fruit flavors mixed in, but the orange did add a fresh note. The biscotti were very easy to make, so next time I would probably omit the orange zest and orange liquer, and add some coffee grounds or coffee liquer instead. :)

Overall, everything was delicious, and tasted even better because we made it all. Perhaps even more entertaining than cooking and eating was seeing Keenan in an apron (he's had to call me before to ask how to cook pasta...sorry for ratting you out, Keenan!) It may be a few months late, but this was a birthday present I will never forget.

Click here for a list of Rustico's unique and authentic Italian recipes!

Fooding and Schmoozing

Once again, I'm able to reep the benefits of my sweet internship at Behind the Burner. Last night I was sent to the Second Anniversary party at Via Dei Mille in Soho. Funky pop art paintings contrast with the dim lighting and the sexy bar to create a trendy, yet relaxed atmosphere. Even the crowd seemed to match this vibe: lots of beautiful, tall people (Elana and I were probably the shortest people there), with a low maintenance, but put together style. I think we both felt a little out of place, not knowing anyone else and probably being the youngest people there, but a few glasses of prosecco and bellinis helped ease us into the crowd.

Once the waiters started to come around with hors d'oeuvres, we felt much more at ease. Appetizers ranged from Italian classics, such as bruschetta, to modern surprises, such as a caprese salad in a shot glass--a tomato gel-like mousse topped with mozzarella and pesto. A big hit were the risotto balls: risotto with mozzarella cheese and peas, shaped into little balls and fried. Yum. Elana and I were both fans of these teeny-tiny poppyseed rolls, filled with smoked salmon and goat cheese with fresh dill. It was like a mini bagel with lox--not necessarily Italian, but very cute and fun to pop in your mouth.

As guests of the party, we were able to order whatever we wanted off the dinner menu. Elana had squid ink pasta with calamari. I had lasagna with butternut squash and lamb ragout. If you can believe it, I used to hate lasagna when I was a kid. My Ga-ga makes it every year on Christmas Eve. I used to get weirded out by the texture of ricotta cheese and refused to try it. Maybe it was my maturing palette or my ever-growing love of food, but one day I finally tried lasagna and it was like a revelation. I couldn't believe I'd been missing out on such yummy goodness for all these years! Baked layers of pasta, cheese, and tomato sauce...how could you possibly go wrong? Needless to say, I am now an official lasagna lover, and the lasagna at Via Dei Mille was some of the best I have ever tasted (sorry Ga-ga!). The pasta was so tender, and the lamb ragout had such a great meaty flavor, but was still so light and velvety. The butternut squash added an elegant, seasonal twist to this simple comfort food. Regardless of its massive portion, I finished every last bite.

To top off this great meal, Elana and I shared Nutella crepes and Molten Chocolate Lava Cake. We both laughed in delight as we shoveled bites into our mouths. The crepes were especially delicious, and brought us back to memories of eating nutella-banana crepes in Reims, France this summer. Ahh, c'est la vie...

Our night at Via Dei Mille was such a great "New York" experience--important and trendy looking people wining, dining and schmoozing. Maybe one day when I make it as a successful food writer I'll be part of that schmoozin' crowd. But for now, I'm happy to pretend and at the very least, get a free meal...especially when that free meal turns out be great.

Not in Kansas Anymore: Dinner at Fatty 'Cue

Me in Brooklyn is like Dorothy in the Land of Oz: completely lost and clueless in a foreign land. Navigating Manhattan is a piece of cake, but put me anywhere outside of the grid and I am completely helpless. Last night, my cousin and I were to meet at Fatty 'Cue in Williamsburg for dinner. After getting off the L on Bedford Ave., I walked to 91 N. 6th Street, where I realized the restaurant was on S. 6th Street. So I walked for about 5 minutes in what I thought was the right direction, until I noticed the streets ascended from S. 8th to S. 9th, etc. Again, I turned around and finally headed in the right direction. Driven by my insatiable appetite (and Google Maps on my phone), I arrived at Fatty 'Cue at 8:30 (30 minutes after we planned to meet). But I wasn't the only Dorothy in Oz; my cousin also got lost on her way to the place!

We both revived our spirits and tired feet with one of Fatty 'Cue's signature cocktails. I had The 'Cue: rum, smoked pineapple, citrus, Tabasco and Pernod. Sppiiiccy!! But definitely a fun and different drink. Alyssa, my cousin, had the South 6th: gin, cucumber, Thai basil, ginger ale and lemon. Much more refreshing and cooling than mine.

The place itself definitely fit in with the hipster vibe of Williamsburg. Menus on mini clipboards. Dark lighting. Waiters in plaid flannel and thick-rimmed glasses. Sitting there in my Banana Republic outfit and pearls I realized, I was not in Kansas anymore.

As much as our physical journey to Fatty 'Cue was a trip to unknown lands, so was the food. Offering a menu of American BBQ food with Southeast Asian flavors, the food is definitely funky, new, and like nothing you've ever tasted.

Our waiter informed us that the best way to order was to get several plates to share. So we started with the Smoked Eggplant Nam Prik: an eggplant dip that came with scallions, bok choy, pork rinds, and green mango to dip. The dip itself had a great smokey flavor. The pork rinds were extremely salty, but good with the eggplant.

Next came the cucumbers with smoked chili, brown rice vinegar and toasted sesame seeds. The cucumbers were a nice break from the bold flavors of our other dishes, but did seem a little plain in comparison. Our bowl of noodles in a meat broth with chili and scallions was excellent. The noodles had a great, springy texture, and a meaty, smokey flavor from the meat juices.

The star of the meal, and both our favorite dish, was the beef brisket with aioli, chili jam and steamed bao (steamed buns). The bao were like little, fluffy pillows. The brisket was very tender and especially tasty sandwiched in the bao with aioli.

Our dessert was much more traditional and familiar: s'mores pie. A graham cracker crust with fudgy chocolate and toasted marshmallow. Yummmyyy! Not sure that s'mores pie fits in with the whole Southeast Asian flavor theme, but when it comes to dessert, good ol' American pie is fine with me!

Dinner at Fatty 'Cue was an adventure not only out of the Manhattan bubble, but also a culinary excursion to uncharted territory. The hipster vibe and funky menu may be intimidating at first, but Fatty 'Cue serves up some great food that won't leave you wishing "There's no place like home".

Note: The only picture I took was of my drink for 2 reasons:

1. It was too dark to take a good picture on my phone.

2. I feared the hipsters would have chastised me for taking pictures in the middle of their sacred grounds.

A Weekend Eatinerary

This weekend was the perfect New York City weekend. Sure the weather was beautiful and it was a long holiday weekend; but what made this weekend so spectacular was the immense array of food I consumed and experienced.

The weekend began at 71 Irving Place Coffee & Tea Bar. This quintessential coffee shop serves up much more than just coffee. Bagels, salads, paninis, breakfast pastries and a tempting spread of cookies and brownies. For lunch I had The Smokey Panini--smoked turkey breast, roasted red peppers, and mozzarella cheese grilled between two pieces of crusty bread. I hope to return and try one of the brownies or another sandwich, but right next door is Friend of a Farmer: a hopping brunch spot, set in cozy, country fare. Maybe after I try brunch here, I can stop in for a brownie after at 71 Irving Place.

After some strolling and shopping on 5th Ave, it was time for a late afternoon snack at the new Baked by Melissa shop in Union Square. The original Baked by Melissa is literally a window in the side of a building on Spring St., where you order their famous mini cupcakes. These cupcakes really are bite size; I could pop them in my mouth like popcorn. But do not be deceived by their small size. Good things really do come in small packages. Baked by Melissa's mini cupcakes pack great flavor and texture in that 1-inch diameter. The small size also makes them perfect for sampling lots of different flavors. This time it was mint chocolate chip, s'mores, and cinnamon. Of course I loved them all, but the s'mores were my favorite :)

After seeing The Social Network, which I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend, it was time for dinner. We hoped to get pizza at Motorino's in the East Village. Motorino's has received a lot of hype recently--a couple friends have raved about it, and Rachael Ray claimed it is her favorite pizza on the Food Network's Best Thing I Ever Ate. Unfortunately, the wait was 40 minutes, and it was already 10 o'clock at night, so we decided to head to S'MAC right next door. S'MAC relies on a creative concept and no fail food: mac and cheese. The menu has several interesting variations on the traditional mac and cheese, or allows you to create your own combination with various mix-ins and cheeses. Tonight we tried the Napoletana (mozzarella, fresh basil, roasted garlic and tomatoes) and La Mancha (Manchego cheese, fresh fennel and onions). Both were sinfully gooey inside and crusty on top, but the Manchego cheese in La Mancha left me scrapping the pan for more.

The only thing that could possibly follow something as delicious as mac and cheese is something equally indulgent in sweetness: frozen yogurt at 16 Handles. This place has a constant flow of customers who proceed in a line to create their own dessert creation from a selection of 16 frozen yogurt flavors and an entire toppings bar. I'm usually a fan of real ice cream or gelato, but this frozen yogurt has great flavor and is so creamy. The Cookies 'n Cream and Peanut butter flavors are my favorite.

Could it be possible to top Saturday's eating frenzy? Oh yes, it is! The day started with a much anticipated cooking demonstration with Duff Goldman and the entire cast of Ace of Cakes at the NYC Wine and Food Festival. The event was filled with laughs, as Duff and his gang poked fun and raced to finish their famed Burger-Hotdog-French Fry cake. Bobby Flay even did a quick drop-by! As two foodies, my friend and I left quite starstruck.

Seeing all that cake built up both our appetites, so we headed to Angelica Kitchen--an all-vegan restaurant. I could never be a vegan. Ice cream, cheese, and chocolate are way too important to my survival. But Angelica Kitchen was a refreshing and healthy break from Saturday's indulgences. My favorite was Sunday's Salad: kidney beans, butternut squash, cauliflower and carrots in a Dijon mustard vinaigrette. This salad was so full of flavor that I almost forgot I was eating a vegan meal.

To continue with the vegan trend and in the spirit of trying something new, we capped off our weekend eatinerary with cupcakes at Tu-Lu's Gluten-Free Bakery. The cake was noticeably more doughy and less cakey than real cupcakes, but the vanilla frosting was still sweet and delicious. Tu-Lu's is a delicious option for those gluten-free, vegan folk out there, but I think I'll stick to my real cupcakes for now...

So if you have ever wondered how the food-obsessed spend their weekends, this is it. At the end of the weekend, I am full, happy, and thinking maybe I should go on a diet...until next weekend, of course.

A Passion for Pumpkin

Has anyone else noticed the recent pumpkin craze in America? Granted it is now officially fall, but I have never seen so many different pumpkin flavored things. It seems like every cafe, bakery and coffee shop now has pumpkin spice lattés, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin soup, pumpkin cupcakes, the list goes on. Not that I'm complaining. I have always been a fan of pumpkin in my food, and I'm happy that the rest of America seems to be catching on too.

Earlier this week, I found a link to several pumpkin recipes from Saveur magazine. These aren't your typical pumpkin pie recipes. The pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin couscous look particularly yummy and interesting. This article inspired me to cook with pumpkin in an unexpected way. After some online research, I found a couple different recipes for pumpkin pasta and decided to incorporate ingredients from a few to create my own recipe. And so I came up with...Spicy Pumpkin Sausage Pasta.

It was very easy to make, but had quite a complex flavor profile, with a mix of sweet and spicy. My Spicy Pumpkin Sausage Pasta was the perfect comforting, hearty Friday night meal.

(Note: this recipe only makes about 2 servings)

2 tsp. olive oil

2 links chicken sausage, cut into chunks

1 garlic clove, minced

1 shallot, minced

1/2 cup pumpkin purée

1/2 chicken stock

2 tbsp. milk

7-10 dashes hot sauces (depending on how spicy you like it)

cinnamon

nutmeg

salt

pepper

1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1 tbsp. fresh chopped sage

2/3 cup whole wheat penne

1. Bring pot of water to a boil. Add pasta. Cook 7-8 minutes, until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water.

2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in sauté pan over medium heat. Add sausage, stir around to brown on all sides. Remove sausage with slotted spoon and place on a plate with paper towels.

3. Add the shallot and garlic to the pan. Cook a few minutes until fragrant.

4. Add the chicken stock and pumpkin purée. Stir in milk.

5. Add a couple dashes of hot sauce at a time, until you've reached desired level of spiciness. Season with a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

6. Add the sausage back into the pan. Allow to cook for a few minutes to heat through and absorb flavors.

7. Pour the cooked pasta, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and sage to the sauce mixture. Stir to combine, and add reserved pasta water as needed to thin out the sauce.

8. Garnish with more cheese and sage. Enjoy!

Open Mind, Open Palate

Unless I’m going to see a Broadway show, I try to avoid Times Square and the theatre district like the plague. Too many people, too much commercialism, and a bevy of chain restaurants. Boo! So when Behind the Burner asked me to do a media meal at Café Un Deux Trois on West 44^th, I was little nervous. Not only would I have to head into my least favorite part of the city, but also face the possibility of eating tasteless, ill-prepared food that is often served at pre-theatre dinner restaurants. But for an unemployed food lover, a free meal is a free meal; and any meal is another food experience to be had, whether good or bad. Luckily, my dinner at Café Un Deux Trois qualified under the "good" food experience bracket, and even put my theater district restaurant prejudice to shame.

The restaurant itself is a quiet, romantic spot--a nice relief from the hustle and bustle right outside. Dark wood floors and walls, old school chandeliers, and colorful stained glass behind the bar created a sexy French vibe à la 1920s. I felt like I should be smoking one of those long cigarettes while having some intellectual conversation en français.

The service was magnifique: attentive and friendly, without being overbearing. However, the service was the one thing that did not ring true to French cuisine and restaurant culture. As two Americans dining in France (Paris especially) we would have been rushed out as quickly as possible, or simply ignored.

Despite this French arrogance, I've always been drawn to French culture. The French really do possess a certain "je ne sais quoi". Café Un Deux Trois possessed all the "je ne sais quoi" of the French without their signature vanity.

What most defined that undefinable French quality at Café Un Deux Trois was the food. To start, I had the Salade de Cresson: a watercress salad with hearts of palm, apples, and walnuts. Apples and walnuts are a classic combination in salads, but the watercress and hearts of palm added an unexpected and elegant twist. Keenan, my guest, had the beef carpaccio for the 1st course. I did not try it, but he said it was quite good. (Keenan can be quite particular about his food, so I trust his judgment).

For my entrée I had one of the specials, Tilapia Provençal: tilapia sautéed with olives, capers, grape tomatoes and garlic. The olives, capers, and grape tomatoes gave it those traditional Mediterranean, Provençal flavors. The tilapia had a nice crust, but was still moist and flaky.

Keenan had the Boeuf Bourguignon --a signature dish of the French: stewed beef tips in a red wine sauce with mushrooms and potatoes. This dish I did try, and it left me wishing I had

ordered the same. The beef was so tender, and the sauce was so thick and flavorful. A perfect hearty meal for a rainy, chilly night.

Of course, you cannot have a real French meal without dessert. Keenan and I split profiteroles--another traditional French dessert, and a longtime personal favorite. Vanilla ice cream

sandwiched between three perfectly flaky pastry rounds, topped with rich Belgian chocolate sauce and toasted almonds. I am convinced that you could put chocolate sauce on just about anything and it would taste good, but this really was la pièce de résistance! Keenan doesn't have half the

sweet tooth I do, but we both fought for the last bite.

Keenan and I left quite full, satisfied, and pleasantly surprised. Who knew authentic, classy French cuisine could exist in the touristy theatre district? Last night's exceptional dinner at Café Un Deux Trois showed me that holding restaurant prejudices can lead one to miss out on a great place. You never know what culinary gem you'll find in the midst of New York; so always keep an open, unassuming mind. Now if only the French could learn to do the same...

Kid's Menu

After spending the past 4 days in Disney World, I was ready for some grown-up food. Disney's parks and its food really are a kid's dream come true: chicken fingers, french fries, Mickey Mouse shaped waffles. Don't get me wrong, it was great to play and eat like a kid again. But by the end of the 4 days I was really starting to crave some real, sophisticated (and healthy) food.

[I don't mean to bash on Disney's food. There are definitely some culinary delights here if you seek them out. Two notable meals I had were duck pot stickers at the Kona Café at Disney's Polynesian Resort, and seared ahi tuna at the Grand Floridian Cafe at Disney's Grand Floridian. Both were quite delicious and served a much needed break from my breakfasts of french toast and lunches of fast food sandwiches.]

So after leafing through the new issue of Bon Appétit upon my return home, I was very excited to try the new recipe for Swordish with Olive, Pine Nut, and Parsley Relish for dinner tonight. Unfortunately, there wasn't any fresh swordfish at the charming DeCicco's Market in Ardsley, NY, but the halibut steaks looked super fresh--pure white in color and completely odorless. The recipe instructs to pan sauté the fish, so I knew halibut would be a sturdy, meaty substitute for the swordfish. I also decided to leave out the olives. I do enjoy olives, but I don't cook with them often enough to buy a whole can that would only go to waste.

This was a very simple recipe. Just season the fish, sauté it in oil, then add shallots, garlic, pine nuts, parsley, white wine (and olives) to create the relish, and serve over the fish. However, I did run into a little technical mishap. Cooking in my grandma's kitchen without my preferred cooking tools can be quite frustrating and limiting. Unfortunately, she doesn't always have all the spices or tools I need; and some of her kitchen gadgets are just a little...old. Well, the pan I used to cook the fish was very "well loved"...even though I added olive oil, the fish still stuck to the bottom of the pan, and fell apart into pieces :(

With the halibut I also made some parmesan-roasted asparagus. I once made Ina Garten's recipe for parmesan-roasted broccoli, and have now adapted it to every vegetable. It is so easy, but always results in such flavorful and perfectly cooked veggies. Just toss the vegetable of choice with some olive oil, salt, pepper, minced garlic, and grated parmesan cheese. Roast at a high temperature for 10-15 minutes, or until the veggies are fork tender. I especially love roasting asparagus because the tips get a little crisp and burnt from the high heat.

After my small cooking blip there was no chance my halibut would look as pretty as the picture in Bon Appétit, BUT it sure tasted as good as the picture looked! The pine nuts, parsley, and white wine gave it a great Mediterranean flavor; and the asparagus was delicious, as always. In the end, it may not have been Bon Appétit cover-worthy, but it sure beat Mickey Mouse chicken fingers for dinner.

Bon Appetit's Swordfish

My Interpretation

Recipe for Bon Appetit's Swordfish with Olive, Pine Nut and Parsley Relish

Photo Courtesy of bonappetit.com